Method of removing carbon-monoxide generated from tobacco



United States Patent 3,229,697 METHOD OF REMOVING CARBON-MONOXIDEGENERATED FROM T OBACCO Shun-ichi Maebashi, Tokyo, Japan, assignor toHerman V. Albrecht, Brooklyn, N.Y. No Drawing. Filed Mar. 6, 1962, Ser.No. 177,741 1 Claim. (Cl. 131140) This application is acontinuation-in-part of application Serial No. 94,695, filed March 10,1961, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to the treatment of smoking tobacco toreduce the amount of carbon monoxide resulting from burning the tobaccoin a smoking device such as a cigar, cigarette or pipe.

Heretofore, tobacco has been smoked in large quantities and it is wellknown that the smoke of the tobacco is harmful to the smoker byproducing various products of combustion including carbon monoxide.Although it has been known that carbon monoxide is harmful even in smallconcentrations such as 5 parts of carbon monoxide to 10,000 parts ofair, it is known that in the gases passing into the human body from asmoking device, the carbon monoxide content may be as high as 4.2% ofthe gas which corresponds to 420 parts of carbon monoxide to 10,000parts of other gases and, accordingly, it should be evident that suchhigh concentration of carbon monoxide is extremely harmful to thesmoker.

An object of the present invention is to treat tobacco so that thecarbon monoxide resulting from the combustion of the tobacco in asmoking device is reduced to more tolerable limits.

Another object of the invention is to provide catalytic agents in thetobacco to produce a lower concentration of carbon monoxide in theresulting gases from combustion of the tobacco in a smoking device.

In practicing the present invention, an aerogel is formed of finelydivided gold in an amount of approximately part and finely divided zincoxide in approximately part whereby the gold and zinc oxide form anaerogel mixture of catalytic agents. This mixture of aerogel catalyticagents is applied to one part of smoking tobacco in a uniformdistribution and the so-treated tobacco is used in smoking devices suchas cigars, cigarettes, pipes and the like. When the so-treated tobaccois used by a smoker, the amount of carbon monoxide passing through themouthpiece into the body of the smoker is greatly reduced.

One way of applying the mixture of catalytic agents to the tobacco isaccomplished by the provision of a vaporizer or atomizer of thecatalytic substance installed in a bottomless box under the bottom ofwhich an endless belt carries the raw materials of tobacco with theendless belt closing the bottom of the box to confine the aerogel of thecatalytic agents within the box to assure proper distribution on thetobacco. Both the atomizer and the box are electrically insulated fromthe belt and in operation the catalytic substances are sprayed out fromthe Patented Jan. 18, 1966 atomizer into the box. A direct currentelectric potential difference is applied between the catalyticsubstances and the tobacco raw material so that the catalytic substanceshave a positive charge and the tobacco has a negative charge. The properamount of the catalytic substance is controlled by controlling theelectrical potential between the aerogel of the catalytic agents and thetobacco and by controlling the amount of catalytic agent sprayed out ofthe atomizer into the box.

What is claimed is:

The method of treating tobacco to reduce the formation of carbonmonoxide reaching the lungs of a smoker in the burning of the tobacco insmoking devices such as cigars, cigarettes, pipes and the likecomprising mixing catalytic agents of approximately part of gold withapproximately 7 part of zinc oxide forming an aerogel, applying apositive potential to such aerogel, applying such aerogel toapproximately 1 part of smoking tobacco by applying a negative charge tothe smoking tobacco of the proper potential to uniformly distribute theaerogel in the tobacco whereby the presence of the catalytic agents ofgold and zinc oxide in the tobacco in a smoking device under theconditions of a limited supply of oxygen and under relatively lowtemperatures in smoking appreciably reduces the formation of carbonmonoxide in the smoking device thereby reducing the amount of carbonmonoxide received into the body of the smoker.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,007,407 7/1935Sadtler 131-17 2,215,620 9/1940 Skumburdis 131-208 2,669,995 2/1954 Troy131-10 2,739,913 3/1956 Lieser 13117 3,039,475 6/1962 Neukomrn et al.131140 FOREIGN PATENTS 327,508 12/1902 France.

711,397 6/1931 Francev 1,123,608 2/1862 Germany.

654,994 7/1951 Great Britain.

685,822 1/1953 Great Britain.

841,074 7/1960 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES A. A. Daglish and D. D. Eley, Actes InternationalCongress Catalyse, 2e, Paris, pages 1615-1626, 1649-1651.

P. H. Emmett, Catalysis, vol. VII, published 1960 by Reinhold PublishingCorp., New York, N.Y., page 316.

Lowry, Inorganic Chemistry, pub. 1931 by Macmillan and Co., Ltd, London,page 529.

F. Ephraim, Inorganic Chemistry, published 1954 by Oliver and Boyd,London, pages 814, 815.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

F. RAY CHAPPELL, Examiner.

